Frantic rescue underway in Indonesia as quake kills scores

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A boy sits on the rubble of a building that collapsed after an earthquake as he takes shelter from the sun in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing a number of people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.

Earthquake victims receive medical treatment at a makeshift a hospital in Pidie, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing a number of people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.

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Rescuers use heavy machine to search for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing a number of people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.

A man removes a box of food from under the rubble of a building that collapsed after an earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing a number of people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.

Rescuers use heavy machine to search for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing at a number of people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.

Rescuers recover the body of a victim of an earthquake under the rubble of a collapsed building in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing a number of people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda)

Men inspect a collapsed mosque after an earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing a number of people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.

Hospital workers and family members carry a woman injured in an earthquake at a hospital in Pidie, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing a number of people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.

Women are reflected in a motorbike’s mirror as they access the damaged building after an earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing a number of people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.

MEUREUDU, INDONESIA >> A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing nearly 100 people and sparking a frantic rescue effort in the rubble of dozens of collapsed and damaged buildings.

Maj. Gen. Tatang Sulaiman, chief of the army in Aceh province, said at least 97 died while four people were pulled from the rubble alive. Another four or five are still believed to be buried, but didn’t say if they are dead or alive.

“Hopefully we would be able to finish the evacuation from the rubble before sunset,” said Sulaiman.

The rescue effort involving thousands of villagers, soldiers and police is concentrated on Meureudu, a severely affected town in Pidie Jaya district. Excavators were trying to remove debris from shop houses and other buildings where people were believed buried. TV footage showed rescuers in orange uniforms shining flashlight into the interiors of broken buildings as they searched for signs of life.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said 273 people were injured, about a quarter of them seriously. Some 245 buildings were seriously damaged or destroyed, mostly in Pidie Jaya, including 14 mosques and the remainder largely dwellings and shop houses. Roads also cracked and power poles toppled over.

Aiyub Abbas, the chief of Pidie Jaya district, which is located 18 kilometers (11 miles) southwest of the epicenter, said there was urgent need for excavation equipment to move heavy debris and emergency supplies. Footage showed rescue personnel taking bodies in black bags away from the rubble.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the shallow 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck at 5:03 a.m. (2203 GMT Tuesday) was centered about 19 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Sigli, a town on the northern tip of Aceh, at a depth of 17 kilometers (11 miles). It did not generate a tsunami.

For Acehnese, the quake was a terrifying reminder of their region’s vulnerability to natural disasters. More than 100,000 died in Aceh after the Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami.

“It was very bad, the tremors felt even stronger than 2004 earthquake,” said Musman Aziz, a Meureudu resident. “I was so scared the tsunami was coming.”

In the capital Jakarta, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he has ordered all government agencies to take part in the rescue efforts. The Red Cross Indonesia has deployed emergency response teams and advertised bank accounts for donations. The International Organization for Migration said it had sent an assessment team to Aceh.

Seaside resident Fitri Abidin in Pidie Jaya said she fled with her husband and wailing children to a nearby hill after the quake jolted the family awake early in the morning. They stayed there for several hours until authorities reassured them there was no tsunami risk.

“It terrified me. I was having difficulty breathing or walking,” said Abidin.

She said her husband grabbed hold of her and carried her out of the house.

The family’s house didn’t collapse but the homes of some neighbors did and Abidin is afraid three friends were buried in building collapses.

In Pidie Jaya’s neighboring district of Bireuen, a teacher at an Islamic building school died after being hit by falling debris, said health worker Achmad Taufiq.

Residents of the nearby town of Lhokseumawe ran out of their houses in panic during the quake and many people fled to higher ground.

The world’s largest archipelago, Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. The 2004 quake and tsunami killed a total of 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Aceh.